South Africa’s Finance Minister Resigns

SOUTH AFRICAN finance minister Nhlanhla Nene resigned on Thursday.

The resignation follows a string of allegations connecting Nene with the Guptas, a wealthy South African family that repeatedly finds itself in the purview of political scandals.

This controversy emerges at a time when Cyril Ramaphosa, the current president of South Africa, had made it a pledge of his campaign to restore public trust, confidence, and stability in the government after Jacob Zuma’s presidency.

As such, Ramaphosa accepted Nene’s resignation despite having no formal charges against Nene.Immediately following Nene’s departure, Ramaphosa appointed Tito Mboweni as South African finance minister.

Mboweni, a trained economist, previously served as head of the South African Reserve Bank and as a labor minister in President Nelson Mandela’s cabinet. Mboweni is praised for rebuilding South Africa’s foreign exchange reserves to almost $40 billion from less than $10 billion during his tenure.

So far, the markets seem to have regained confidence. Following the news, the rand rose making up for losses earlier.